The Castor Oil of Free Speech

Sometimes those who uphold the Constitution have to take difficult positions on cases when the circumstances are less than ideal – what attorneys call “bad facts.” Two such cases are currently in the news; one is the case of Albert Snyder vs. Fred Phelps pitting the father of a fallen Marine against those who conducted a protest at his son’s funeral. The other involves the decision of a federal judge in Denver, Colorado who ruled that the Stolen Valor Act is “facially unconstitutional” because it violates free speech. The Stolen Valor Act became law in 2006 and prohibits people from falsely claiming they have been awarded military honors, decorations and medals. Mat Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel and Dean of the Liberty University School of Law, discusses those cases, the Liberty Counsel’s amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Snyder vs. Phelps case, and why taking a constitutional, rather than an emotional, stand on these cases is vital for everyone’s freedom.